Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what impact assessment his Department has undertaken on the potential effect of reductions in nutrition aid funding on immunity from covid 19.

The FCDO development budget has been allocated in accordance with UK strategic priorities against a challenging financial climate driven by COVID. Officials considered impact on women and girls, the most marginalised and vulnerable, people with disabilities and people from other protected groups, when developing advice to Ministers.

The available evidence does not suggest that individuals with undernutrition in developing countries are at higher risk of severe illness as a result of COVID-19, but we are tracking the emerging evidence on this question closely.